VIDEO: Hundreds of Yazidi men shown converting to Islam under threat of death by brutal IS
VIDEO: Hundreds of Yazidi men shown converting to Islam under threat of death by brutal IS –
A VIDEO apparently showing Yazidi men converting to Islam under threat of death has been released by the Islamic State (IS).
Click here to watch video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CCwK3MTUROU
THE TELEGRAPH – The militant group, formerly known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isis), is believed to have already executed hundreds of members of the ancient religious sect in Iraq.
IS members have reportedly given Yazidi people a choice: convert to Islam or die.
Reports have also surfaced of Yazidi woman being buried alive and sold as slaves.
Many Yazidis are believed to still be trapped on Mount Sinjar, in the north-west of Iraq, after fleeing their villages.
The latest IS propaganda video seems to seek to show how the radical group has enlightened members of the religious group by converting them.
In the video, entitled ‘Hundreds of Yazidis convert to Islam’, an IS fighter tells the camera that the group wants those who remain on Mount Sinjar to come and join them.
He says: “We advise and plead with the Yazidis to come down from the mountains and to convert to Islam – firstly to rid themselves from the fires of hell in the end and secondly, if they remain on the mountain, they will die of hunger and thirst.”
The militant goes on to say that reports of aid drops from Western countries, including Britain, are false.
He says: “And as for the aid from Western countries and crusader countries, it is a lie.”
He adds that if Yazidis convert to Islam, they will be protected and live “happy lives”.
A long line of men and boys is shown walking past a truck mounted with an anti-aircraft weapon before meeting IS fighters, shaking their hands and hugging them.
They are later shown sitting under the the radical group’s flag, answering to a speaker.
They are told: “Right now you are infidels.
“After this you will become Muslims and you will have rights. Repeat after me.”
The Yazidi group, which is predominantly ethnically Kurdish, practises a faith which combines aspects of Christianity, Islam and Zoroastrianism (an Iranian faith believed to be one of the world’s oldest monotheistic religions).
The eclectic belief system has adopted Christian rituals such as baptism, as well as Islamic traditions such as circumcision and the removal of shoes in their temples.
The video comes just days after the release of footage showing the murder of US journalist James Wright Foley by an IS killer.
Mr Foley was forced to read a statement criticising US forces and their strikes on IS, before he was beheaded by a masked militant – believed to be British.
US President Barack Obama has vowed to continue with airstrikes, despite threats from the group that another US hostage would die.